Pneumatic thread extractor for looms



Oct.29, 19 0- e. A. BUFFINGTON PNEUMATIC THREAD EXTRACTOR FOR LOOMS Original Filed Oct. 31, 1938 INVENTOR Georee Abuffmefron EC/r.

ATTORNEYS Patented Oct. 29, 1940 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE PNEUMATIC THREAD EXTRACTOR FOR LOOMS- Original application October 31, 1938, Serial No. 237,833. Divided and this application March 23, 1939, Serial No. 263,718.

Renewed April 9,

8 Claims. (Cl. 139256) This is a division of my co-pending application filed October 31, 1938, Serial No. 237,833.

This invention relates to improvements in thread extractors for looms and it is the chief object of the invention to provide an improved intake mouth for the tube which receives the thread.

In co-pending application Serial No. 190,637 filed by Turner there is set forth a pneumatic thread extractor having a thread tube with an intake mouth to be depressed at the timeof transfer for engagement with thethread which extends from the selvage to the outgoing bobbin. The thread which extends from the shuttle box to the extractor is drawn into the tube on transferring beats of the loom. At a subsequent beat the temple cutter severs the thread at the selvage, whereupon the thread is completely removed from, the race and may if desired be deposited into a thread accumulator.

It has been found desirable to construct the intake mouth in such a way that theair rushing into the tube can engage all sides of the thread and it is an important object of my present invention to provide a construction for the mouth which wil1 require the thread to be disposed in some intermediate part of the stream of air passing into the tube. It is a further object of my present invention to provide a mouth construction which will trap the thread to prevent its accidental removal from the tube.

In the aforesaid application there is shown a strip of pile fabric extending below the path of the shuttle and into which the tongue of the extractor projects so that during rearward motion of the lay the thread will be supported on the pile tufts at the point above the lowest part of the tongue. In that application, however, the tongue is fiat so that the thread can lie along a surface in such a position as to be entirely on one side of the column of air rushing through the tube. It is a further object of my present invention to provide'the tongue with a rib which shall be located partly at least below the top of the pile tufts during the backward stroke of the lay for the purpose of placing the thread in the stream of air and keeping away from the flat surface of the tongue.

It is another object-of my invention to form the tongue as a separate part of the tube and having an upwardly extending lug to be fastened to and extend into the lower part of the tube. This lug or shank preferably has a concave surface facing the thread so that the inrushing draft of aircan pass behind as well as in front of the thread. In this way the thread is kept from extending along a fiat surface which might otherwise interfere with its movement into the tube and its response to attractive force of the draft.

The control for the tube together with its time of operation and means for creating an inrushing draft of air may be the same as that shown in the aforesaid application and such parts only of the disclosure of that application are set forth herein as are needed to indicate the use and location of my present invention.

With these and other objects in view which will appear as the description proceeds, my invention resides in the combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter described and set forth.

In the accompanying drawing, wherein two forms of the invention are shown,

Fig. 1 is a vertical section through part of a loom equipped with a pneumatic thread extractor provided with my present invention,

Fig. 2 is an enlarged side elevation of the lower part of the extractor tube viewed from the center of the loom, showing the preferred form of my invention,

Fig. 3 is a front elevation looking in the direction of arrow 3, Fig. 2,

Fig. 4 is a bottom plan looking in the direction of arrow 4, Fig. 2,

Fig. 5 is a vertical section on line 5-5 of Fig. 3,

Fig. 6 is a front elevation of the tongue unit which is inserted into the bottom of the extractor tube,

Fig. 7 is a plan view of the structure shown in Fig. 6, and

Fig. 8 is a perspective view of a modified form of the invention.

Referring to the drawing, particularly Fig. 1, I have shown a loom frame In having a breast beam H carrying pivot l2 for a transfer arm I3. The latter is normally raised but is depressed by, mechanism not shown herein but illustrated for instance in the aforesaid application when a transfer of a full bobbin is to be made from the magazine not shown into the shuttle S. The lay L is reciprocated horizontally by connectors one of which is shown at I 4. The transfer will ordinarily take place when the lay is at front center position, or when the lay is moved to its closest position with respect to the breast beam, and immediately thereafter the lay starts its back- Ward motion in a left hand direction with respeet to Fig. 1., A rod l5 pivoted to the lay as at l6 extends rearwardly to operate a vacuum pump 'not shown but similar to that set forth in the aforesaid application. While my present invention may be used in connection with the device shown in that application for producing a vacuum, yet I do not wish to be limited to the use of my invention with such vacuum producing means.

A flexible preferably rubber tube 20 fits over the upper end of a hollow metallic tube 2| held by a set screw 22 in a vertically movable carrier head 23. The tube is Vertically adjustable with respect to the head and is normally in a raised position so that all parts carried by the tube are above the path of the shuttle on non-transferring beats of the loom. The head 23 is mounted on the forward end of a rod 24 and carries a roll 25 to be engaged by a plate 26 fastened to the transferrer arm l3. At the time of transfer the plate 26 descends with the transferrer arm to engage the roll 25 and lower the head 23 from its normally raised position to the position shown in Fig. l. Thereafter on the backward stroke of the lay mechanism not shown herein but fully set forth in the aforesaid application restores the head 23 to its normally raised position.

The matter thus far described of itself forms no part of my present invention and may be constructed as set forth in the Turner application already mentioned.

In carrying my present invention into effect I provide the lower end of the tube with a downwardly openingapair of notches 33 located behind thefront wall of the tube so that a lip 3| of the latter extends below the top of the notches. The.

lower end of tube 2| supports a thread engaging unit A having a shank or bearing 32 extending into the tube and held in place by a rivet or pin 33. The forward face 35 of the shank 32 is concave forwardly or to the right as viewed in Fig. 2.

Extending forwardly and downwardly from the shank 32 is a tongue 36 having an upper surface 31. Extending preferably centrally upwardly along the surface 31 is a rib 38 which rises above surface 3'! and has an upper rounded edge along which the thread slides with a minimum of resistance. The rib terminates in an upwardly projecting finger 48 which is located in front of the notches 30. The finger also projects upwardly behind the lip 3| and in front of a portion f the concave surface 35.

As shown in Fig. '7 the shank 32 is formed as slightly more than half a cylinder to facilitate its retention in the tube while the pin 33 is being placed. While this is a useful incident to the construction of my invention I do not wish to be limited to it. The lower end of the tube 2| has projecting forwardly therefrom a thin plate or wing 59 having a downwardly and rearwardly inclined thread guiding surface 5| which leads to the notch designated at N, Fig. 2, toward which the thread will be directed by rearward motion of the lay.

As indicated in Fig. l and shown more particularly in Fig. 5 the lay has therein a cross slot 60 to receive a body of pile fabric 5| the tufts of which project upwardly td a point not higher than the race plate 62 of the lay. The rib is so proportioned that when the intake tube is in its lowest position the bottom of the tongue and also a portion of the rib 38 will lie below the top 65 of the pile fabric. It is to be understood that the taut thread extends along the race plate and across the slot 60 to be supported by the upper ends of the tufts of the fabric BI and it is this relation which permits the tongue and also the rib thereon to be disposed partly at least below and behind the weft thread designated at W.

In operation the tube will be depressed to the position shown in Fig. 1 on a transferring beat of the loom. The forward part of the tongue and the lower part of the rib 38 being embedded in the pile fabric with the thread extending along the race plate at points somewhat in front of or I to the right as viewed in Fig. 2, of the notch N.

The thread is then out in the shuttle box in any approved manner as set forth in the aforesaid application when the lay is in forward position, after which the lay starts to move rearwardly and carries the thread supported by the shuttle race toward the notch N. At the same time a rush of air is induced into the notch N and upwardly along the tube 2|, the air passing into the notches 30 and along a path between the lip 3| and the finger 4|]. Continued rearward motion of the lay directs the thread upwardly along the rib 38 until the thread comes within the zone of influence of the draft of air, whereupon the thread will slide up over the finger 40 and behind the latter into the notches 30 and to a point in rent of the rear part of the concave surface 35. It should be stated that the rib 38 extends rearwardly from the finger 40 to the concave surface 35 so that it is impossible at any time for the thread to fall along a fiat surface because of its engagement with the rib and finger.

This placement of the thread behind the finger 4|! occurs during the first part of the rearward motion of the lay and ordinarily before the-shuttle leaves the shuttle box. The thread, although cut at the shuttle eye at the time of transfer, will therefore be held sufiiciently taut to be drawn to the position described and be in the zone of influence of the inrushing draft of air before the shuttle is picked to release the cut end of the thread from frictional holding between the front wall of the shuttle and the shuttle binder not shown. When in this position it will be observed especially with reference to Fig. 2, that the thread extends along part of the rib 38 and may lie against the edges H! which marks'the forward terminations of the concave surface 35. The column of air passes under the thread as well as in front of it and behind it. The thread is therefore suspended inthe moving column of air and as soon as the end cut at the shuttle eye is released by the picking of the shuttle said end will be drawn intothe tube and will remain there until the other end of the thread is out at the selvage on some subsequent beat of the lay. When the latter condition occurs the whole of the thread is drawn into the tube and may pass along the rubber conveyor 2|! to some point sufficiently remote from the path of the shuttle to prevent the latter from drawing the thread into the warp shed.

The form of the invention thus far described makes use of a rib extending substantially to the lower end of the tongue. I do not wish t be limited to this construction, however, inasmuch as it is sufficient if the unit A be so constructed that the column of air which rushes into the tube 2| can act on all sides of the weft thread. This result can be achieved without the use of the rib as set forth in the modified form of the invention shown in Fig. 8 wherein the tongue 80 corresponding to the tongue 36 is provided with two spaced air grooves or recesses 8! between which lies a rib 82. The upper surface may be level with the surface of the tongue 80. In this modified form the rib 82 has the rear part thereof curved upwardly as at 83 to form the finger 40 which will be substantially the same as the finger shown in the preferred form of the invention.

In the operation of this modification the air moving into the tube 2| rises from the air grooves 81 which lie under the thread and in doing so draws the thread in the tube. Although I have shown two of the grooves or recesses 8| yet it is obvious that a single recess can be used inasmuch as such a construction would permit the thread to extend across a depressed part of the tongue. In other respects, such as'the construction of the shank of the concave face and the disposition of the finger 40 and that portion of the rib lying behind it, the construction shown in Fig. 8 may be the same as that in the preferred form.

From the foregoing it will be seen that I have provided an improved intake for a pneumatic thread extractor wherein the unit located at the bottom of the tube 2| is so constructed that air moving into the tube can rise from a point below the thread, this condition being true whether the rib 38 of the preferred form of the invention be used or whether the tongue 80 is provided with one or more air recesses 8| as in the modified form. It will also be seen that the tongue 40 is so placed with respect to the lip 3| as to provide an effective trap for the thread to prevent the latter from escaping from the notches 30. Also, the forward face of the shank 32 is made concave for the purpose of permitting a part of the column of air which rushes into the tube 2| to pass behind the notches 30 and the thread located therein. Fig. 2 shows that the rear edge 15 of the notches 30 extend below the lowest part of the rib 38 defining the bottom of the thread pocket of which the notches 30 form the upper part, and it is this construction which maintains the thread out of contact with fiat surfaces and in the path of the column of air rushing into the tube 2|.

Having thus described my invention it will be seen that changes and modifications may be made therein-by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention and I do not wish to be limited to the details herein disclosed, but what I claim is:

1. An attachment for the tube of a pneumatic thread extractor, said attachment comprising a downwardly and forwardly extending thread guiding tongue having thread engaging edges so located that a straight line passing-from one of said edges to another edge will lie above a portion of the tongue to provide an air space below said line.

2. An attachment for the lower end of a tubular pneumatic thread extractor tube, said attachment having a downwardly and forwardly extending tongue with an upstanding rib terminating in a finger, the rib extending behind but at a level lower than the top of the finger, and an attaching hub rigid with the tongue to be inserted into the tube, the hub being located behind the finger.

3. An attachment for the lower end of a tubular pneumatic thread extractor tube, said attachment having a downwardly and forwardly extending tongue with an upstanding rib terminating in a -finger, the rib extending behind but at a level lower than the top of the finger, and an attaching hub rigid with the tongue to be inserted into the tube, the hub being located behind the finger and having a concave surface facing the finger.

projecting downwardly and forwardly from the intake opening and supported by the tube, and a thread hook having an upwardly opening throat directed toward the intake opening in the tube.

6. An attachment for a pneumatic thread extractor for a loom, said attachment comprising a tube the lower end of which is closed except for a thread intake opening, a thread guiding tongue supported by the tube and directed downwardly and forwardly from the intake opening in the tube, and a thread hook on the tongue having a thread receiving opening directed toward the intake opening of the tube.

7. An attachment for a pneumatic thread extractor for looms, said attachment comprising a tube the lower end of which is provided with an intake opening, a tongue extending forwardly and downwardly from the intake opening, a

thread hook projecting upwardly with respect to the tongue and toward the intake opening, and a thread guard projecting forwardly from the intake opening to assist in directing the thread into said opening.

8. An attachment for a pneumatic thread extractor for looms, said attachment comprising a tube the lower end of which is provided with an intake opening, a tongue extending forwardly and downwardly from the intake opening, a thread hook projecting upwardly with respect to the tongue and toward the intake opening, and a thread guard located above and projecting forwardly from the intake opening end of the tube and assisting in directing a thread in front of the tube toward the intake opening and tongue.

GEORGE A. BUFFING'I'ON. 

